Tag Archives: the beatles

This coming Sunday will mark 50 years since The Beatles brought the "British Invasion" to U.S. airwaves on "The Ed Sullivan Show." Two days later, Larry Gatlin will be crossing the pond in the opposite direction to bring the sounds of Nashville to The Beatles' hometown of Liverpool, England.

The country star will host his WSM radio show "The Gospel According to Gatlin," live from The Liverpool Institute For The Performing Arts - which was co-founded by former Beatle Paul McCartney.

The show is being presented by Nashville musician and educator Suzahn Fiering, who introduced Gatlin to McCartney at the 2013 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, which McCartney headlined.

"The Gospel According to Gatlin" will broadcast live from Liverpool at 2 p.m. CT Tue., February 11.

Nashville-area listeners can tune in to 650 AM, or listen online at www.wsmonline.com

When he played Bridgestone Arena Saturday night, Urban took the stage before 9 p.m. and didn’t retreat backstage for good until after 11:30 p.m.

He brought fans on stage. He serenaded one lucky young woman from Nashville with a song of her choosing as she sat in a recliner with her feet propped up in his spotlight. He walked through the audience several times. He shook hands, signed autographs, gave hugs, called people "baby," handed out a guitar, used a hand-held spotlight to see the audience, took his band to play on a stage at the back of the arena, led sing-alongs, and delivered hours of hit songs.

All of it was in an effort to get even closer to the people that have filled seats at his shows and kept him at the top of the country radio airplay charts since his debut solo album 15 years ago.

And he did it in a way that made people believe there was no place he would rather be.

“It is the absolute last night of our 'Light the Fuse Tour,' " Urban told the sold-out arena near the beginning of his show. “I know a lot of people have been traveling to a lot of shows. We might be a bit late tonight -- a little later than normal.”

Pharrell Williams, Brad Paisley and Cique "LOVE" perform at The Night that Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles, on Monday, Jan. 27, 2014, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Zach Cordner/Invision/AP)

By CHRIS TALBOTT
AP Music Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) - There's an easy way to give pop music's most performance-hardened stars a case of the butterflies: Ask them to perform in front of The Beatles.

Many of today's top artists gathered Monday night to honor The Beatles' legacy, with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr in attendance and late members John Lennon and George Harrison always in mind, at The Recording Academy's taping of "The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to The Beatles."

Nashville’s Beatles tribute band The WannaBeatles will make its national television debut this weekend when members appear on Fox News Channel’s “Huckabee.”

The appearance, which will air at 7 p.m. Saturday, will commemorate the 50th anniversary of The Beatles’ first performance in the United States.

Show host Mike Huckabee will sit in on bass with the Grammy-nominated group as it plays a medley of Beatles classics as well as its original “fan anthem” “Because They Were Fab.”

Show host Mike Huckabee will sit in on bass with the Grammy-nominated group as it plays a medley of Beatles classics as well as its original “fan anthem” “Because They Were Fab.”

“We did start this as a labor of love because we are fans ourselves,” said band member Dennis Scott. “We remember The Beatles from the early days and the impact they had on our lives and we just love being able to keep the music going.”

CLICK THE PHOTO ABOVE for a gallery of Nashville-connected artists who performed in the 55th Grammy Awards in 2013. Here, Taylor Swift performs on stage during the show in Los Angeles. (Photo by John Shearer/Invision/AP)

Which means the city’s musicians have only three slots in the four all-genre categories: Taylor Swift for best album, and Kacey Musgraves and new resident Ed Sheeran for top new artist. And some of Music City’s commercial blockbusters (Luke Bryan, Florida Georgia Line) and critically hailed works (such as Jason Isbell’s “Southeastern” album in Americana and Caitlyn Rose’s “The Stand-In” in country and pop) received no nominations, just like our symphony and our other classical and jazz artists.

But if this is a down year, then things are looking up.

Tonight’s 56th annual Grammy Awards will offer plenty of showcases for Music City performers both contemporary and vintage. Swift will play a prominent role, performing onstage at Staples Center and competing in the races for best album, best country album, country song and country duo or group performance (with “Highway Don’t Care” conspirators Tim McGraw and Keith Urban). Her fellow country crossover superstar Urban will perform with guitarist Gary Clark Jr., and young guitar-slinger Hunter Hayes will perform his new, emotion-drenched single, “Invisible,” during the show.

As the countdown to Jan. 26's Grammy Awards continues, it was announced Tuesday that, as usual, an album featuring a bunch of this year's nominated tunes will be made available.

"2014 Grammy Nominees," due Jan. 21, will spotlight the artists and songs in the record of the year, album of the year, song of the year, best new artist, best pop solo performance and best country album categories. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Recording Academy's charities the Grammy Foundation and MusiCares Foundation.

Katy Perry (photo: Karen Kraft/The Tennessean).

Those purchasing the album can also enter a contest for tickets to the big night when pre-ordering the album on the Grammys' official site. Albums purchased in stores will include a special game piece with a unique code through which they can also vie for tickets.

One day after the awards, a group of Grammy winners will team up on stage to pay tribute to The Beatles for the taping of ""The Night That Changed America: A GRAMMY Salute To The Beatles," TV special, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the band's historic first appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show." Nashville country star Keith Urban is part of the all-star lineup, along with a reunited Eurythmics, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Maroon 5 and John Mayer.

LOS ANGELES — Phil Everly, who with his brother Don formed an influential harmony duo that touched the hearts and sparked the imaginations of rock ’n’ roll singers for decades, including the Beatles and Bob Dylan, died Friday. He was 74.

Everly died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at a Burbank hospital, said his son Jason Everly.

Phil and Don Everly helped draw the blueprint of rock ’n’ roll in the late 1950s and 1960s with a high harmony that captured the yearning and angst of a nation of teenage baby boomers looking for a way to express themselves beyond the simple platitudes of the pop music of the day.

Phil and Don Everly sing some of their hits in August 1997 at the 10th annual Everly Brothers Homecoming concert in Central City, Ky. Click to see more photos from the Des Moines Register. (Photo: Suzanne Feliciano / Associated Press)

The Beatles, early in their career, once referred to themselves as “the English Everly Brothers.”

The Everlys’ hit records included the then-titilating “Wake Up Little Susie” and the universally identifiable “Bye Bye Love,” each featuring their twined voices with lyrics that mirrored the fatalism of country music and a rocking backbeat that more upbeat pop. In all, their career spanned five decades, although they performed separately from 1973 to 1983. In their heyday between 1957 and 1962, they had 19 top 40 hits.

Don Everly was born in 1937 in Brownie, Ky., to Ike and Margaret Everly, who were folk and country music singers. Phil Everly was born to the couple on Jan. 19, 1939, in Chicago where the Everlys moved to from Brownie when Ike grew tired of working in the coal mines. The brothers began singing country music in 1945 on their family’s radio show in Shenandoah, Iowa.

Their career breakthrough came when they moved to Nashville in the mid-1950s and signed a recording contract with New York-based Cadence Records.

Country Music Hall of Famer Kris Kristofferson will be recognized with a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy next month in Los Angeles.

Kristofferson and six fellow honorees - a group that includes The Beatles, Armando Manzanero, Clifton Chenier, The Isley Brothers, Kraftwerk and Maud Powell - will be celebrated at a private event on January 25 and acknowledged during the 56th annual Grammy awards on January 26.

In release, Recording Academy president Neil Portnow said the honorees "have created some of the most distinguished and influential work in our musical history. Their legacies are timeless and legendary, and their creativity will continue to influence and inspire future generations."

Carrie Underwood had quite the night at the Emmy Awards on Sunday where she performed The Beatles’ “Yesterday” in tribute to the 50th anniversary of television milestones including the coverage of John F. Kennedy’s assassination and The Beatles’ performance on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”

Underwood tweeted constantly over the course of the day including “selfies” before she got dressed for the show and her thoughts on Emmy host Neil Patrick Harris while watching his rehearsal.

“He’s so good,” she said and attached a photo of Harris’ face on a large screen inside the arena.
However, some of her most memorable highlights came courtesy of two members of rock royalty – Paul McCartney and Elton John.